Sheree: The cool girl behind the Hot Babe

It’s so easy to label Sheree as just another sexy star wannabe, simply because she’s part of the controversial Viva Hot Babes. The label tends to grow on the 34-25-34 bombshell as she dons plunging necklines with naughty tassles.

But Sheree is the first to say she feels queasy in those revealing attires. If she had her way, Sheree insists, she’d rather sing her way to showbiz than disrobe. So why did she agree to be part of the dance group, in the first place?

"At that time, it was the fastest way to enter showbiz," Sheree admits. "Viva (which handles the Hot Babes) offered me a recording career. So I didn’t hesitate to accept it."

Her father, a retired colonel, took one look at her photos and shook his head. "You don’t have to go sexy," he told her. Sheree appeased dear old dad by assuring him that "this is just my stepping stone in becoming a singer."

He has stopped protesting since. After all, he knows how much his daughter loved singing jazz, R&B, rock, etc., in bars way back when she was growing up in Cagayan de Oro.

So bent was Sheree on turning professional singer she approached Patricia Javier backstage after her (Patricia’s) benefit concert for soldiers in Cagayan de Oro. The minute she saw Sheree (known as Cherry Hazel Bautista back then), Patricia knew the barrio lass was showbiz material. Patricia lost no time in convincing Sheree to go to Manila.

When Sheree hesitated because she knew no one in the big city, Patricia volunteered to accompany her (Sheree) there.

So it was that Sheree bid her beloved hometown goodbye and tried her luck in showbiz. She easily won the nod of Jessica Rodriguez, who agreed to be her manager. For starters, Jessica gave the Vivian Velez lookalike the more sophisticated showbiz name Sheree. It’s not a drastic departure from her real name – Cherry Hazel.

Soon, Sheree found herself sharing the stage with Carol Banawa in the Trumpets musical The Little Mermaid. As Carol’s sister, Sheree was cast as a mermaid herself.

It was sheer bliss for Sheree, who got her musical bent from Freestyle’s Jinky Vidal, an aunt, and singing champion Mark Bautista, a distant relative, both on her mother’s side.

"When my family went to the US (where her mom, separated from her dad, is now based). I performed in supper clubs at Colorado and Virginia with my band, the Lost Trailers. As lead vocalist, my repertoire was made up of country and R&B songs. People there can’t believe I’m Filipina. They thought I’m Mexican," says Sheree.

Now, those who know her only as a Viva Hot Babe and FHM cover girl (2003) will see the other side of Sheree when she mounts My Sheree Amour at Music Museum tonight.

It will be a night of R&B with Luke Mejares as one of her guests. The presence of Patricia Javier and Sheree’s fellow Hot Babes Asia Agcaoili and Myles Hernandez promises to make the concert a feast for the eyes as well.

There’s more waiting for Sheree, this time on TV. GMA executives took note of her colorful life story (her parents separated when she was that tall) and decided to devote an episode of Magpakailanman for it.

"My family used to be hard up. That’s why I’d resort to gigs to augment the family income," reveals Sheree. "Our fortunes only changed when my mom went to the US. She sent money to pay my tuition and I was able to finish International Studies at the Ateneo in Cagayan de Oro."

While the network has yet to decide on an airing date, Sheree can’t wait to see the cameras roll. Rosemarie Gil will play Sheree’s grandmother; Alma Moreno her mom and Al Tantay, her dad. Sheree will play herself.

At the rate things are going, Sheree may yet kiss that sexy image good-bye. When this happens, Dad himself will be the first to stand and shout, "That’s my girl!"